Welcome to the Rudloe and environs website.
Here you will find news, articles and photos of an area that straddles the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north-west Wiltshire.
Contributions in the form of articles or photos are welcome. Even those with completely contrary views to mine!
Thanks to the website builder 1&1 and Rob Brown for the original idea.
Rudloescene now, in January 2014, has a sister, academic rather than anarchic, website about Box history here: http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/
It contains thoroughly professional, well-researched articles about Box and its people.
Contact rudloescene through the 'Contact' page.
31st March 2020 and honesty (Lunaria annua) in Boxfields Road seems to be flowering earlier this year.
Mahonia Japonica in the Boxfields Road hedge indicates that this formed part of a domestic garden in the Boxfields 'pitch roofed' prefab estate
"The moss and the ivy ..." established on two damn great rocks at Hazelbury
Big sky at Boxfields with Doohan's Wood on the horizon
Ploughed field (Tim Barton's) at Boxfields with Quarry Wood on the horizon
Wadswick agro-industrial, retail and restaurant complex with Hercules coming around for a second approach
Now we move on to 1st April 2020 and a walk to Collett's Bottom via Rudloe Firs. With all the new development in west Corsham, the lack of sufficient access to the countryside is becoming clearer. The Copenacre development is 'in' the country but isolated from it - next time you pass, note the number of people walking their babies or dogs along the A4. If the old Brickers Barn turnpike between the Cross Keys and Rudloe Firs (both ends now barred with iron gates) was opened up again (this is being pursued) this would provide a marvellous cross-country route and enable much easier access to the Cross Keys (pub) if and when it reopens. However, access from the Copenacre estate would still be an issue so a new, relatively short, byway would need to be dedicated from the back end of Copenacre to the old turnpike. Part of the route, between Pickwick Lodge and Middlewick Lane, is already a formal byway - CORM73. Surely the (four/five) landowners involved could be persuaded to back this project for the benefit of the whole community.
One of a number of patches of three-cornered garlic at Rudloe Firs. This is just now coming into flower.
Walking the Brickers Barn Turnpike on 1st April 2020
The old turnpike road between Cross Keys, via Hartham Park Chapel, Hillsgreen Lodge and Pickwick Lodge, and Rudloe Firs may clearly (!) be seen in the map below
Giant beech and daffodils in this view west from the old turnpike - 1st April 2020
Track at Collett's Bottom leading to the lake; loads of wild garlic here which is about a month away from flowering - 1st April 2020
And here is the lake with remarkably little wildlife today
The western end of the lake has a drain from where the water flows through a culvert and on to the By Brook at Weavern
Woodland above the lake. As this is called 'The Larches', these trees may be ... larches (!)
Still in 'The Larches' but these are certainly not larches, more like beeches
'Felled' ivy adjacent to the Weavern byway close to No Notion
Two, of four, red kites may just (just!) be seen at centre picture above Lower Rudloe
The recently planted, and now well-established, holly hedge in Lower Rudloe Lane (why holly I wonder?)
A substantial dry stone wall under construction protecting the 'executive homes' of By Brook View at Lower Rudloe
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